A New Zealand tenor singer of Tongan heritage, was announced as one of 16 contestants in this year's Cardiff Singer of the World 2023.

Filipe Manu will be joining the BBC competition, showcasing some of the world’s most talented opera singers.

BBC said that the competition has run for 40 years since its inception in 1983. This years event celebrates their 40 years anniversary on 10 June 2023.

The competition will the last a week, from 11-18 June 2023.

The participants will compete for the Cardiff Trophy and £20,000 prize and the title of “Singer of the World 2023”.

Manu has had a promising career so far, he won New Zealand’s most prestigious opera singing competition, the Lexus Song Quest, in July 2022. after being a runner-up in 2016.

Filipe Manu

Filipe who identifies Kolomotu'a, Tongatapu, as his home village, has spent the last year living in Bern, Switzerland, performing as a soloist in the Bühnen Bern opera ensemble. He is competing in the Lexus Song Quest during a holiday break back in New Zealand.

He has a Bachelor of Music degree and a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the University of Waikato, where he studied with Dame Malvina Major.

Filipe has been a Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera, and been selected for the inaugural Dame Malvina Major Opera programme and the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Singers’ Development programme. He also completed a Masters Degree in the Opera Programme at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.